Public Speaking

Public Speaking by Amy Lohr

(please see my site: www.amylohr.com for more information)

Amy is seeking opportunities to be a keynote/motivational speaker on the topic of "Sacred Pain": sharing Amy's survival of childhood abuse & eating disorders and inspiring others to recognize the ways suppressed pain negatively affects all aspects of our daily lives. "Sacred Pain" honors the gifts of peace, healing, and wisdom that are hidden behind our deepest wounds. By the end of Amy's talk, you will feel touched by her story of survival, you will be moved emotionally, and you will begin to see your path of healing that can allow you to touch your deepest wisdom and ultimately find your most authentic self. Come take this sacred journey with her!

"As a messenger of healing, compassion, and resiliency: I am
honored to share the message of “Sacred Pain”. My voice echoes the depth of my
own pain and journey of healing, while also touching your heart, inspiring your
pathway in life, and illustrating the healing and transformative power of
compassion to all your life’s experiences, including your pain.

Sacred Pain refers to the concept that your emotional pain should
be revered as sacred and worthy of being felt, nurtured, witnessed, and
expressed. Just as pain is a human
condition, it is also an automatic human response to resist, tense to, brace
against, and avoid pain. We develop a vast array of creative strategies to
avoid and resist pain, some of which are a necessary component of survival at
the onset of pain. However, there is a turning point when we continue to use
these same strategies to avoid pain after they are no longer needed for
immediate survival, which only promotes further suffering. This is where
addictions, compulsions, and other “escapes” arise as means to further the
resistance of pain. Our pain and the
consequences of our pain are actually not nearly as bad as the ways we run
from, resist, and avoid pain and the ultimate consequences of resisting pain, i.e. addictions, eating disorders, feeling disconnected from self and others, not being or feeling present in day to day life, shame, resentment, entitlement (need I say more?).

It is counter-intuitive to embrace pain; however, accepting and experiencing your pain when it
is safe to do so, affords you some of the greatest gifts in life: compassion,
wisdom, healing, love, and peace. Ultimately, it is often through the scariest,
darkest experiences in life that we are afforded some of the greatest opportunities
for growth. I will demonstrate and teach the methods I have learned through my
own journey of healing: how to peak into the dark, find the light of
compassion, and find the way back home
– to a peaceful heart, a resilient Spirit, and a rejuvenated pathway." - Amy Lohr

Speaking Topics Can Include:

“Sacred Pain: Embracing Your Pain for the Sake of Your Soul”

We all have pain in life – pain is a human condition,
something we can’t control or eliminate. Pain just exists as a human
experience. However, we all also have automatic impulses to resist, tense to,
brace against, or avoid pain. These creative strategies to survive pain are
often necessary impulses at the onset of pain. These same strategies are also
what inevitably create further suffering in life, as pain is an experience in
life that needs integrated into all of our other life experiences. When we
compartmentalize pain as “bad, negative, and undesirable”, we limit our ability
to heal, grow, and ultimately thrive in life.
It is counter-intuitive to embrace pain, but I would argue that revering
our pain as sacred and worthy of being felt, expressed, and nurtured, is what
invigorates and heals your soul. In the workshop, you will learn why it is
essential to embrace your sacred pain for the sake of your soul.

“Creating a Vessel
for Sacred Pain”

We have many rituals around honoring the things that are sacred,
memorable, sentimental, and revered in our culture. We design multi-million dollar facilities to
memorialize war veterans – the same heroes who fought in wars to fight for freedom
from pain and suffering. We pay
top-dollar for security systems to house our most prized and valued possessions
in museums, vaults, and so on. All of these efforts are worthy and justified.
What if we learned as a society to take any degree of those efforts and honor our
own pain with the same reverence? I know, it sounds ridiculous to imagine
installing hundred foot concrete statues to memorialize our pain – so lets
scale it down some. Imagine any vessel, any size, any structure, any shape that
is worthy of holding your pain. Imagine that this vessel is justified as a
“keeper” of your pain because your pain is sacred. What if the wounds you’ve
incurred in life over all the wars you have fought and either won or lost, are
all wounds that are worthy of being felt, expressed, healed, and nurtured? Imagine the power of devoting a “vessel” that
holds a space of compassion, curiosity, and nurturance toward your wounds –
your Sacred Pain. Amy invites you to create this vessel for your Sacred Pain as
you demonstrates doing so with her own pain. You won’t think of pain in the
same way after hearing this talk. You will leave more open to compassion for
yourself and others. Could there be a greater gift in life?

The above talks can be integrated or separate, depending on your needs and interests. All talks and topics on Sacred Pain are applicable to many venues (e.g. graduations, work events, community meetings, in-services, organization/agency meetings). Amy is happy to tailor a talk to a specific audience.

Please contact Amy with event & scheduling details:

Amy Lohr

lohrcounseling@gmail.com

412-254-3441

Professional Workshops/Consultation

Amy has experience creating and facilitating workshops for mental health/helping professionals to address clinical needs, as well as providing workshops for staff in any organization around workplace issues or workshops focused on employee wellness.

Below is a description of potential topics & workshops that Amy can provide mental health professionals (or as a community-based workshop):

Trauma Informed Care (concepts of Sacred Pain can be integrated)

Personality Disorders

Eating Disorders

Understanding the Cycle of Domestic Violence

Impact of Childhood Abuse

Overcoming Sexual Abuse

Impact of Grief and Loss

Recovery from Trauma and Abuse

Practicing Mindfulness

Understanding and Utilizing Spirituality as a Resource in Treatment

Understanding and Working through Vicarious Traumaticization

**If there are specific training needs on any of the above topics or an additional topic is needed, please inquire further; as workshops can be tailored to meet specific staff needs.

Amy can also provide clinical supervision to mental health professionals in a group or individual setting.

Below is a description of potential Work-Related Workshops that Amy can provide to your staff at any organization:

Mindfulness in the Workplace

Stress Management and Relaxation

Building Assertiveness and Communication Skills

Balancing Work and Life

**Additional workshops can be developed based on specific employee/workplace needs.